US Senate Republicans on Wednesday suffered a second stinging setback in as many days in their drive to uproot Obamacare, when a plan to repeal the healthcare law — with no replacement at the ready — failed to advance in the chamber.
The washout has left Republicans — who only a day early rejoiced when the Senate agreed to proceed to a formal debate on health care — struggling to find consensus on how to fulfill US President Donald Trump’s pledge to scrap the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Senate leaders have said they intend to pass a bill by the end of this week, but that path remained murky — and the outcome in doubt.
The session adjourned on Wednesday night after a series of votes on minor provisions and with Democrats complaining that the Republicans were being cagey about what their next move will be.
In the new defeat for the Republicans, seven of their side joined Democrats in opposing a proposal which would have ended Obamacare’s insurance exchanges and its taxes on the wealthy; rolled back the expansion of Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor and the disabled; and ended mandates compelling individuals to have insurance and for companies to provide it.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast that 32 million US citizens would become uninsured over the next decade should the bill become law.
The defeat came just hours after the Senate voted down a broader Republican plan to repeal and replace former US president Barack Obama’s health care reforms.
It was a bleak set of outcomes for Republicans after a whirlwind session on Tuesday at which Senator John McCain, recently diagnosed with brain cancer, earned a warm ovation as he returned to the Senate to cast key votes.
While Trump had applauded Republicans for finally moving to a debate that could lead to “truly great healthcare for the American people,” the moment of victory proved temporary.
One new approach in order to keep the effort afloat was gaining traction: a limited dismantling of Obamacare.
The so-called “skinny repeal” would ditch the provision that fines individuals for not having insurance and companies that do not offer it. It also would eliminate a tax on medical-device manufacturers.
The Republican leadership does not expect the pared-down bill to become law. However, should it pass the Senate, it could be used as a placeholder, a basis for negotiating broader legislation with the US House of Representatives.
The approach drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who have warned that an Obamacare repeal would result in deep cuts to Medicaid and prohibitively high insurance premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned his party would offer no more amendments until it knew what the Senate would be voting on next.
“Certainly we’re not going to do that while there is some secret legislation — skinny repeal, it is reported — waiting to emerge from the leader’s office,” Schumer told the chamber.
The CBO analysis for a “skinny repeal” is 16 million US citizens losing their health insurance and millions more seeing their premiums go up by 20 percent, Schumer said.
A bipartisan group of US governors sent McConnell a letter also saying a “skinny repeal” would be a mistake.
The House passed its Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill in May, but it stalled in the Senate, which was intent on crafting its own version.
The two would need to be reconciled and a final bill passed by both chambers before it reached the president’s desk.
However, with deep fissures within the US Republican Party, a failure to approve any health reform plan remains a possibility.
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